It started as a shoplifting incident inside the store on Veterans Memorial Parkway near Saxon Boulevard. A thief loaded up a cart of merchandise, and loss-prevention employees tried to stop him as he left the store, officials said.

Authorities said the shoplifter, identified as Eddie McKee, 42, knocked Ann Buongiorno to the ground as he ran out of the store.

"I'm all still shaken up from all this," said Buongiorno. "I thought I was going to die. I was knocked down very hard, and I thought I got shot, and I was screaming at the top of my lungs."

An off-duty law enforcement officer saw McKee running for his car and ordered him to stop, but McKee fled.

Investigators said another man in the parking lot, who was identified as Jose Martinez, pulled out a gun and fired at least four shots at McKee. The back window of the car was shot out, and bullet holes were found in the trunk.